Iraq protests: deaths, suffocation and conflict over a political deal

Four demonstrators were killed and more than 100 others were injured when security forces fired tear gas and used live ammunition to disperse demonstrators gathering in al-Khalani Square in central Baghdad, medical and Iraqi sources said.

But the Interior Ministry denied in a statement that there were casualties among the demonstrators in al-Khalani Square, and said that security forces did not use live bullets to disperse them.

The sources confirmed that the security forces forced the demonstrators to withdraw from the courtyard of Al-Khalani, where they have been gathering for two weeks, to go to Tahrir Square.

Al-Jazeera correspondent reported that a number of demonstrators were suffocated as a result of security forces using tear gas to disperse the protesters in al-Senak Square, near the bridge leading to the Iranian embassy and the Green Zone in central Baghdad.

Liberation Square
According to Agence France-Presse that the sound of bullets was severe at the entrance to the tunnel leading to Tahrir Square from the bridge Alsnak, where a number of demonstrators were shot and bloody before they were transported "Tuk Tuk" because of the shortage of ambulances.

With signs that an agreement between political forces is nearing, security forces have begun to advance in the street, recovering three of the four bridges held by demonstrators in Baghdad.

Witnesses reported that the security forces carried out a dawn campaign of large-scale arrests against the demonstrators under the bridge Alsink, adding that a number of demonstrators were arrested.

In the same context, the leader of the Sadrist movement Muqtada al-Sadr, the Iraqi authorities to stop the suppression of anti-government protests in the country since last month.

"Stop repressing the voice of reform, leave it corrupt," Sadr said in a tweet on his Twitter account.

The protests, which began on October 1, witnessed bloody acts of violence that killed about 300 people, most of them demonstrators demanding the "overthrow of the regime."

Further south, in the oil-rich Basra province, security forces used live bullets against demonstrators heading to the provincial council building.

Three people were killed and dozens injured, according to medical sources. Security forces are currently arresting anyone trying to demonstrate.

As for the camps set up by protesters in the squares of Baghdad and the cities of the south, security forces broke up by force in Basra, and burned with tear gas in the city of Karbala.

As the Internet has been forcibly shut down in the country since the beginning of the week, Iraqis are apprehensive of the worst, with the memory of the first week of protests coming to mind.

Political consultations
At the political level, the majority of the forces continued their meetings in recent days, according to Agence France-Presse quoted two cadres of one of the parties that participated in the meetings.

One of these sources pointed out that "political parties agreed during a meeting that included the majority of leaders of large blocs to adhere to Adel Abdul Mahdi and adhere to power in exchange for reforms in the files of anti-corruption and constitutional amendments."

He added that the parties also agreed to "support the government in ending the protests by all available means."

Political sources pointed out that the agreement between the parties concerned, including others and wisdom, was after "the meeting of General Qasim Soleimani Muqtada al-Sadr and Mohammed Reza al-Sistani (son of Ali al-Sistani), which resulted in the agreement to remain Abdul Mahdi in office."

The sources confirmed that the only party that rejected the agreement is the "victory" coalition led by former Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who believes that the only solution to the crisis is the departure of Abdul Mahdi.

But the office of Shiite cleric Ali al-Sistani denied that the Shiite clerical authority was part of an alleged agreement to keep the current government and end the ongoing protests.

The reference in a statement issued by her office in Najaf that her attitude towards the popular protests and deal with them and respond to the demands of the protesters is clearly stated in the Friday sermons, has confirmed that she informed her decision to all who contacted her, and that all attributed to it otherwise, it is for the purpose of political exploitation of Some parties and parties, and unfounded.